Are interactive talking toys good for speech development?

Not really. They talk instead of your child, and research shows parents talk less around them too. They're fine for fun, but for speech choose a toy that says nothing itself.

What toy should I buy a two-year-old who isn't talking much yet?

A toy phone, toy animals, a play kitchen or a board book. But more important than the toy is playing with you: comment, wait for a reply and add one more word to theirs.

Does blowing bubbles or a whistle help with speech?

As play and fun together, yes, but on its own it won't teach speech. Children learn to talk mainly by talking — in conversation with an adult.

How long should we play each day for it to make a difference?

Short bursts of focused play are enough, say ten minutes a day when your attention is only on your child. Speech also grows while getting dressed, cooking or in the car, when you chat together.

When should I take my child to a speech pathologist?

If around their second birthday they aren't talking or putting two words together, if around three even family can't understand them, or if they're losing speech they already had. Start with your GP or paediatrician, or go straight to a speech pathologist.

Back to blog

Toys for speech development: let your child talk

14/10/2026 · The Hero of the Book Team

Talking toys talk for your child. Choose toys where your child does the talking — an age chart, phrases to get them chatting and when a toy isn't enough.

Toys for speech development: let your child talk

Quick answer

The toys that do most for speech are the ones that say nothing themselves: a hand puppet, a toy phone, a play kitchen, toy animals, picture cards or a book without buttons. With these, it is your child who has to do the talking — along with the adult playing with them. A toy that sings, counts and names things for your child, on the other hand, takes away their reason to open their mouth.

Why talking toys tend to hold speech back

Children don't learn to talk by listening to a speaker but by taking turns: the child says something, the adult answers, the child responds. Every exchange like that is a small lesson. A toy with buttons short-circuits it — your child presses, the toy talks, done. They don't have to say anything, so they don't.

A study by American researchers in JAMA Pediatrics (2016) showed this well. At home, parents played with their 10- to 16-month-olds in turn with electronic toys, traditional toys and books. With the electronic toys, parents talked less, responded less to what the child was doing, and the children themselves "talked" less too. Books drew the most words, with traditional toys close behind.

That doesn't mean the flashing gadget is banned. Just don't count it as a speech toy: your child spends time with it, but won't learn new words from it.

Toys that make your child do the talking

Hand or finger puppets
A puppet gives a child a second voice. A shy child who won't answer you will often speak up "for the dog". One or two puppets and a cardboard box as a theatre are plenty.
Toy phone
You can't make a phone call in silence. A plain phone with no sounds beats one that rings and talks by itself — your child has to act out the call.
Play kitchen, shop, doctor's kit
Pretend play calls for sentences: "What would you like?", "How much is it?", "Where does it hurt?". Your child tries on other roles, and with them words they don't usually hear at home.
Toy animals and a farm
For the littlest ones, first sounds (moo, miaow, quack); for older children, whole stories: who ran away from whom, who's hungry, who's lost.
Picture cards and memory games
Turning over a card means naming it — and with older children, describing it: "It's an animal, it has a long neck and it eats leaves." Card riddles build vocabulary and sentence structure.
Blocks and figures
A building set isn't about speech on its own, but the moment a figure moves into the house, the storytelling starts. Add a car or an animal and ask where it's going.
Books without buttons
A picture book is the strongest speech toy there is, as long as you talk about it rather than just read it aloud. Point, name things, and let your child finish a sentence they know by heart.

What to choose by age

Age	What your child is doing with speech	Toy	How to play with it
1–2 years	first words, pointing, copying sounds	toy animals, a ball, a board book, a box with a lid	name what your child points at; make animal sounds and wait for them to copy
2–3 years	putting two, then three words together, asking "what's that?"	toy phone, play kitchen, cars and a garage, picture cards	add one word to their sentences: "car" → "blue car going"
3–4 years	short sentences, "why?" questions, first stories	puppets, toy shop, doctor's kit, memory game	play a role where they have to ask and answer, then swap roles
4–6 years	telling what happened, rhyming, guessing	figures for stories, riddle cards, picture blocks	let them make up what happens next; play guess-the-object from a description

Phrases that get your child talking

Instead of asking "What's that?"

"Hmm, I think this animal's asleep… or is it?" — a comment leaves your child room to answer; a quiz shuts them down.

When your child says one word

Child: "Doggy." You: "Doggy's running! Where's the doggy running?" — you repeat their word and add a new one.

When they get it wrong

Child: "Doggy eated." You: "Yes, the doggy ate. He ate his biscuits." — no correcting, you just say it the right way and move on.

A choice instead of yes/no

"Do you want the red cup or the blue cup?" — you can't just nod at that; it takes a word to answer.

Playing with a puppet

Puppet: "I'm sooo hungry. What should I have for lunch?" — your child gives the puppet advice and talks more than they would if they were answering you.

On the phone

"Hello, it's Nan here. What did you do at kindy today?" — a real question your child knows the answer to and you don't.

How to play so your child talks, not you

1
Get down to their level
On the floor, facing your child. Children also learn speech by watching the mouth of the person talking.
2
Follow their interest
Play with whatever they have chosen. Children talk about the thing that has their attention right now, not the one you slip them.
3
Comment, don't quiz
Say out loud what is happening ("The car's going up the hill… and crash!") instead of firing off questions you already know the answer to.
4
Wait
After you've said something, count to five in your head. Silence is an invitation. Most adults fill it themselves before the child has even taken a breath.
5
Add one more word
Answer one word with two, and two words with a short sentence. Always just one step ahead of what your child can already do.
6
Play little and often
Ten minutes of focused play a day does more than an hour side by side with everyone looking somewhere else.

A book as a toy for talking

In that study, books came out best because a picture explains nothing by itself — the adult and child have to do it. But that only holds for a book you talk about. Sound books with buttons are really a talking toy in a paper jacket: fine for fun, not for speech. More on books you can play with is in our article on interactive books.

A book in which your child recognises themselves is great for getting them talking too. When they are the hero of the story, they want to retell it to Nan, fill in what happened next and add their own ideas. A personalised book can do exactly that: one photo becomes a hero who looks like your child, the story has 12 illustrated spreads and is usually ready within 15 minutes. You can stop at every spread and ask: "What do you think they'll do now?"

What not to buy, and when a toy isn't enough

Toys that talk instead of your child aren't worth it for speech: the interactive puppy that recites the alphabet on its own, a tablet with "educational" games, or a panel of sound buttons. With puppets and figures for children under three, also watch out for small parts that could be a choking hazard. For ideas based on skills rather than age, see our gifts for preschoolers.

No toy replaces a professional, though. Take notice if around their second birthday your child isn't talking at all or isn't putting two words together, if around three even people who know them well can't understand them, or if they are losing speech they already had. Then talk to your GP or paediatrician and a speech pathologist. Getting checked early is always better than waiting to see whether they'll "start talking on their own".

Sources

Sosa A. V.: Association of the Type of Toy Used During Play With the Quantity and Quality of Parent-Infant Communication — JAMA Pediatrics, 2016 — a comparison of electronic toys, traditional toys and books.
Yogman M. et al.: The Power of Play — Pediatrics, 2018 — clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics on the importance of play.
ASHA: How Does Your Child Hear and Talk? — An overview of what children usually manage with speech at each age.